So we looked last time at our past predicament. The reality of a living death.
Some deliberately walking in that way, others desperately aiming at that target, but with a moral compass that was all out of wack, and so consistently trying to get back on track.
In my basic training I did not consciously choose to miss the target. The first time there had to be someone who knew what he was doing who could set my sights straight. Otherwise I would have to use my own judgment, and I would never know for sure. Jesus Christ came so that we might understand the moral compass of an otherwise unreachable God.
Now we move on from recognizing, sometimes with a degree of shame because of it, our past predicament, the reality of a living death, to our present position or our present potential - which has got nothing to do with our own ability, but is:
I. The Response of a Loving God

Ephesians 2:4-5 But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, [5] made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions--it is by grace you have been saved.

But God! - because of His great love for us.

Verse four begins with two marvelous B's. But, and because. "But God!" And, "Because of His love"

Here is the contrast. In the midst of the human dilemma, God has intervened. When we had hit rock bottom, God reached down to pick us up. When our moral compass was totally out of whack. When our sights were off the mark and our destination was certain destruction, when deliverance is what we needed, that is precisely what God provided for us. And it was not because we deserved it. He delivered us because He is rich in mercy. He delivered us because of His great love. He delivered us even when we were dead in our transgressions.

And this is because it is God's eternal nature to bring calm out of chaos. Light out of darkness. You can go all the way back to Genesis 1 and there you will see that the earth was without form and void and darkness was all around. The original language gives us the idea that it was in fact chaos, but God said "let there be light" and the darkness disappeared and order was set in motion.

Then you can turn all the way to the last book of the Bible, the last chapter and again you see God turning darkness into light. Rev 22:1-5

That deals with the first of those B's. "But God." That is His nature. The second B is equally a part of His nature. God is Love. And because of His love we can find ourselves in this glorious present position in Christ.

Deliverance is because of Love
If we got what we deserved from God, we would be in a tremendous amount of trouble.
God is motivated not by what we deserve, but by the richness of His mercy.
He reaches out to vile, sinful, godless, unworthy, unholy, undeserving human beings, engulfed by sins and trespasses, in the service of satan, and because of His love for them transforms them into brilliant specimens of sainthood.
It is the greatness of His love that makes our sin so terrible. It is not so much that it is a sin against the law as it is a sin against God's love.
Suppose someone was driving too fast down a neighborhood street and killed a little child playing in the street. He would be charged with man slaughter and speeding. He would then be tried, and most likely would be found guilty. If so, he would probably pay a fine or go to prison. After serving his sentence, he would have satisfied the requirements of the law. But that is true only regarding his sin against the law.
What about the child's mother? Could he ever make up for her loss through his sentence? No. From her perspective he sinned against her love, not against the law. The only way he could ever be restored to her would be if she offered out of her own heart, complete, free and unconditional forgiveness. Humanly that is almost impossible and highly unlikely. But because that is one of the divine attributes of God (God is love), He is able to and in fact does do that.

We have not only sinned against God's law, but killed His Son as well. And man continues to do so in his open rejection and denial of Him. Yet God reaches out and offers unconditional and complete forgiveness to those who accept it.
Oh the response of a loving God -
Oh, the love that drew salvation's plan, Oh the grace that brought it down to man. Oh the mighty gulf that God did span at Calvary.

Deliverance is by love, but deliverance is also for life, and so we see finally that once we have recognized the reality of the living death, received the response of a loving God, we can now live with:
II. The Resultant Living Hope.
vs. 5. Even when we were dead in sins, He made us alive together with Christ.

This deliverance is for life. Not in the sense of forever, although it is that, but rather for the purpose of life. We have been delivered so that we can be alive. We are told that God has made us alive together with Christ. Christ has given us new life. We no longer simply exist, we now really live. He is not merely referring to life eternal, He is also referring to life abundant. The life of Christ lives in us, and we live in Him.

This is the nature of the hope that Paul prayed that we would come to understand in chapter 1.

Here he describes in a little more detail the reason for that hope. First of all he says that it is:

1. A gracious hope. It is provided for us at Christ's expense. That's what the letters GRACE spell. God's Riches At Christ's Expense.
"By grace you have been saved." The grace of God is His unmerited favor. Our salvation comes as something we do not deserve. It is given to us as a gift based on what Jesus Christ did for us on the Cross of Calvary. We have been given an unconditional pardon from the prison of our sin. We are not pardoned because we are not guilty, we are pardoned in spite of the fact we are guilty. And this grace is not extended to us in part as a down payment on our future commitment to Him either. It is a full pardon without strings attached. It has to be that way or it would not be gracious. It would be meritorious.
During the reign of Queen Elizabeth 1 there was an attempted assassination on her life. The woman who attempted to assassinate her was dressed up as a male page, and had hidden in the queen's bedroom. There she waited for the right moment to stab the queen to death. She did not realize that the queens attendants were required to search her room before she was permitted to retire. Hidden there among the gowns, they found the would-be assassin and brought her before the queen.
The woman, realizing that her case was hopeless, threw herself down before the Queen and begged and pleaded with her to have compassion upon her as one woman to another and show her grace.
Queen Elizabeth looked at her coolly, and quietly she said, "If I show you grace, what promise will you make for the future?" The woman looked up at her and said, "Grace that hath conditions, grace that is fettered by precautions, is not grace at all." Queen Elizabeth caught it in an instant and said, "You are right: I pardon you of my grace," and they led her away a free woman. History records that from that moment, Queen Elizabeth had no more faithful and devoted a servant than the woman who had intended to take her life. Grace that hath conditions and precautions is no grace at all. Grace that must be earned through good works and faithful deeds is no grace at all.

Grace is freely given to those who deserve only judgment and hell.
This is the kind of grace that God has for us. This is the process by which we receive redemption and eternal life. This is the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ that led Him to cross and pour out his life for us so that the price for our sins might forever be settled.
This is the grace upon which our hope is based. It is a gracious hope.
It is also:
A glorious hope.
It is glorious in that it is complimentary to Christ. It glorifies Him in this age and in the age to come. Vs. 7
You have heard the expression, "I am a trophy of God's grace" That is what this means.
God has not only saved us, He has raised us up with Christ, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places, in Christ Jesus. In other words, we share in Christ's exaltation and glory. We share in the supernatural, spiritual, resurrection life of Christ. We are risen with Him. And that for a purpose. That purpose is in order that in the ages to come He might show the surpassing richness of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. We are now His trophy. We are an example of His love and grace and kindness. It is God's purpose to display us in the ages to come as an example of what He can do to deliver a human life from the bondage of sin. We are a part of Gods eternal purpose in Christ Jesus. We are examples of what God can do to impart His divine, supernatural life. What a contrast! For someone to be on death row and to be pardoned and elevated to such a glorious position is too wonderful to conceive.
Nothing less than the mega, dynamic, super power of God spoken of in chapter 1. That is why we have a testimony. So that we can give glory to the one who saved us. This hope is glorious because it is complimentary to Christ.
This hope is glorious because it is complete. Vs. 8
We are not being saved, by our works. We have been saved by His grace. We were not saved because we prayed the sinner's prayer. We were not saved because we repented with genuine tears, or because we turned over a new leaf, or kept all the commandments or did all the good in the world that we could do. We were saved by His grace, and grace is God's unmerited favor to those who merited exactly the opposite of what we got.
That is why when someone asks, "Are you saved?" you can say with confidence, "Yes I am". I asked this question to a group of folks just the other day. One dear soul had to confess that she hoped she was. In spite of all that she had done to be sure, the best she could do was hope. If there is anyone here this morning who believes that your salvation depends on how well you and God can do till the end, you can never say "I am saved" the best you will ever be able to do is say, "I hope so." This passage however contradicts that idea, because Paul with authority says, "You who have been saved are a trophy of God's grace until the very end,"
It is complete.
Finally it is glorious because it is consequential. The word means that there are significant consequences that result from the glory that comes from His grace. We have the potential to live our lives on the supernatural plane. Vs.10 For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.
Remember what Jesus told His disciples that they could expect once the Holy Spirit had come upon them? John 14:12 I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father.
This is the hope that is ours. Why then do we experience so little of the power that accompanies that hope? I believe it is because we are not totally convinced with the eyes of our hearts that Christ is able to do what He says He can. The truth is, it is already there. It has already been purchased for us. We have already been seated with in the heavenlies, alongside of Him. The same things that are under His feet are under ours.

Perhaps we are not experiencing that because although He has made us alive, we are still walking around in our grave clothes. We have life, but we don't have liberty. Yet we know that complete liberty is available to us. For two reasons. God's Word said it, and we have seen His power at work in others. Life in itself is not enough. We must also have liberty.
Consider Lazarus for a moment. He was resurrected, but came forth in his grave clothes. The next command that Jesus gave was that he be loosed.
Some are alive, yet still in grave clothes. Reminded of the stink of the death of their previous life. Weighed down by the weight of that heavy burden. Jesus Christ can set you free.
When Jesus sets you free you are able to:

1. Walk in the spirit - your feet are loosed.

2. Work in the spirit - hands are set free

3. Witness in the spirit - mouth is set free.
This is the reality of the gospel. We were once dead in our sins. Dead, disobedient, depraved and doomed. Yet, because of the response of a loving God, we now have the potential for a full, meaningful and eternal life. Free from the bondage of that death. Free to participate in spiritual blessings.